Friday, July 30, 2010

Memory Lane

Sometimes it's nice to have the opportunity to take a trip down memory lane and remember who you once were, and see if it strikes a chord with who you have become. Recently, I have had the opportunity to come home, and as part of my payment I promised to clean my stuff out of the attic. You can't help but be nostalgic as you view old pictures, read old love letters and pack away mementos from days gone by. As I was trying to decide if another milk crate of notebooks was going in the 'keep' or 'trash' pile, a little chit of paper fluttered to the floor and was lost in the shuffle.

Tonight, as I sat down to write my blog, my sister was reading over my shoulder and I was struggling with writer's block. She looked at me, and asked why I just didn't write something that I had already written and ran upstairs to grab the little chit of paper that I had misplaced earlier today and she said, "Why don't you just write this?" So, I am.

I believe I was lost in the abyss that happens between high school and University, and was waiting for 'real life' to begin so that I could finally have the opportunity to make something of myself, realise my dreams, and find my life's passion. And, one day I realised that my 'real life' had begun and that these things were not going to find me, nor would they be easy to attain - there would be obstacles, work (probably hard work), and I may never get to where I had always envisioned myself being but this would be one race where participation would be more important than finishing.

So without further ado the thoughts of my young self on true happiness:

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin, 'real life', I mean, but there always seemed to be some obstacles standing in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business that needed to be attended to - time still to be served or a debt still to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life and this perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. So treasure each moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.